Second Chances
by Rebel Sorceress
Summary: Slowly at first, then faster, her hands formed the signs. Dog, Snake, Ox, Bird, Tiger. “Time Reversal no Jutsu!” With a second chance at life can Sakura change the past and save all that she loves or will she make the same mistakes all over again.
1. Prologue

Revenge. That used to be Sasuke's word but now it was going to belong to a new shinobi. Haruno Sakura would never forgive Orochimaru for taking away her Sasuke-kun and now she finally had the chance to get even.

She sat on a bench; the same bench from where she had seen Sasuke leave. The moon was just a sliver but that didn't mean it was dark out. Quite the contrary actually. The fires that consumed the nearby buildings cast eerie shadows across Sakura's face. This was the after math of war, a war in which she had lost everyone that she had ever held dear and as always she couldn't do anything to stop it. She had tried of course. She had finally fought back to protect the ones she loved but it had been too little too late.

The jutsu was forbidden. Sakura knew that but she didn't care. She also didn't care that it had never been properly tested. She had discovered it on one of Lady Tsunade's old scrolls. It was hidden away in a box somewhere forgotten and lost in time. It was perfect.

So as she sat on the bench where It all began and where it was now all ending, her hands began to move. Slowly at first, then faster, her hands formed the signs. Dog, Snake, Ox, Bird, Tiger.

"Time Reversal no Jutsu!" she screamed. With the last of her chakra gone and her home ablaze before her, Sakura slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing… nothing at all.

All was dark. Slowly she opened her eyes. The bench! She was still sitting on the same damn bench! It hadn't worked! All her planning had gone to… wait. She reached up and touched her hair. Long pink strands fell around her shoulders. She looked down. Yes! She was wearing that same silly dress. She was back!

She jumped up and looked around. There, leaning against a tree was Sasuke. No, wait. He got up and sauntered over.

You have such a noble…" he was cut off when Sakura suddenly glomped him.

"Naruto! Oh, Naruto you're alive!"

"Uh… but I'm not, I mean," stuttered the disguised ninja. Sakura smiled.

"Oh right," she giggled "Sorry _Sasuke_." She said sarcastically before sprinting off towards her house, waving good-bye as she went. Naruto let the illusion jutsu fall and stood there totally bewildered.

"What did she mean by 'alive'?"

Though Sakura was here on a mission she knew she had a lifetime to do it, so she might as have a little fun. The first thing she needed to do was change her outfit.

"Mom! I'm home!" she shouted swinging the door open.

"Sakura? What are you doing here? Don't you have classes?"

"Lunch break. I just need to grab something. I'll leave in just a minute."

"Well okay. Just don't be late."

"Don't worry I have a feeling my sensei's going to be a little late too." Sakura smirked as she dashed up the stairs. Mrs. Haruno shook her head.

"I swear, I will never understand that girl."

Sakura locked her door and turned to see the full length mirror. Running her fingers through her long soft hair, she looked at it wistfully. Why did she need short hair anyway? Tsunade had long hair and was an excellent kunoichi. Sakura grabbed a ribbon off her desk. Her finger moved quickly and accurately. Soon she had a long primrose braid running down her back. She was going for a whole new look.

The next issue was her outfit. As Tsunade's apprentice she had received many hand me downs that weren't exactly, in her size. Due to this Sakura had become quite a talented seamstress. After checking her measurements she grabbed one of her dresses and got to work.

She paused for a moment to examine her supplies and her time. Even though Kakashi would most likely be late, she still had to beat him there. On top of that she wanted to take a moment to get her bearings as to where she had been dropped in the time stream.

As for supplies, well she had her dress and some accessories like winter gloves and old tights that she could use. This wasn't enough for a drastic change but she could still shock a few people. A smile crossed her face as she got to work. The first thing she had to do was turn that potato sack dress into something that actually fit. She took it in to accentuate her small waist. She cut it shorter, heightened the slit and snipped of the sleeves. She unzipped the collar and pinned one side down with a round silver button.

Next she had to add some flair. She grabbed two pairs of tights that she had for formal occasions. The first, a rich gray, she cut to look like leggings. The second, a pale white, she turned into arm warmers. She smiled to herself as she tried them on. They were just like her old ones except for the color. She slid into the newly sewn dress and put on the tights. To hold them in place Sakura wrapped bandages around the base and added her kunai pouch. Sakura once again stood before the full length mirror and found that she was fairly proud of her handiwork but there was one problem. Her shoes.

Suddenly an idea hit Sakura like the impact of Naruto's rasengan. Her mother was a petite woman; therefore it would only be natural for her to have small feet. Slinking down the hall Sakura made it into her parent's room. Rummaging through her mother's closet she soon found what she was searching for. The boots were perfect, almost identical to the ones that she had worn in her previous life. According to Mrs. Haruno, she had gotten the boots when she dressed as a ninja for a costume party years ago. Sakura therefore concluded that the shoes wouldn't be missed. In fact with the billions of shoes that the woman owned, Sakura doubted that her mother would even notice.

With one last mirror check, she was out the door. By the look '_Sasuke'_ had given her that morning, she figured she had landed just before meeting Kakashi. If memory served, Sasuke currently classified her as annoying.

Just the memory of his smug face made her flare up. How dare he? He spent all of his time trying to avenge the loss of those he cared about and in turn lost those who cared about him. Sakura would never do that. She swore that to herself. She would never lose her friends to chase after revenge, and she wouldn't let them do that either.

She was still fuming about Sasuke's obnoxious emoness when she stormed into the classroom. Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for her inside.

"Sakura where were you?!" asked Naruto waving his arms up and down frantically "We thought you," he opened his eyes, finally seeing her. He blinked, and blinked again. "You look different." He said stating the blatantly obvious. "What happened?"

For once Sasuke looked up. He examined her for a moment. Raised an eyebrow and looked away.

"You _almost_ look like a respectable ninja." He said in that obnoxious monotone.

"That's funny," Sakura said sourly, still upset from her earlier mental tirade "I was about to say the exact same thing about you." He looked up and blinked in shock just in time to see her sit next to Naruto. She had disrespected him. _Him!_ Sasuke Uchiha! He glared at her suspiciously. Something was odd about Sakura Haruno and Sasuke intend to find out what it was.

"Hey Naruto!" she said cheerfully greeting her teammate.

"Um… hey. What's with the new outfit?" He asked nervously. _Ohmygosh, _thought Naruto. _Sakura's sitting right to me and even talking to me! Score!_ She shrugged nonchalantly.

"I dunno, I guess it was just time for a change. So, uh, where's Ka, I mean the new teacher?"

"Yeah!" shouted Naruto forgetting about Sakura's odd behavior "Why are we the only cell whose teacher hasn't shown up yet!? All the other teams have already gone off with their teachers and even Iruka-sensei has gone!"

Sakura watched as Naruto shoved a table against the wall. She, figured she should act a bit like her old self, especially since Sasuke seemed suspicious.

"Hey! What are you up to Naruto!?" Sasuke looked up just in time to see Naruto shoving an eraser just above the door.

"It's what he get's for making us wait!" shouted Naruto jumping off the table. By now Sakura was having a hard time pretending to be annoyed. It was just all so nostalgic and adorable.

"No way could a superior shinobi be caught in such a simple booby trap." Sasuke said in his _I'm so much better than_ you voice. A hand started to slide the door open and a masked face popped through. Kakashi's eyes were at half mast as the eraser bounced off his silver hair.

"Ha! Ha! Gotcha! Good one!" Naruto laughed hysterically. By now Sakura was trying so hard not to laugh that her chest hurt. After all those years of pain and sadness she finally got to see Naruto the way he should be. Happy. Finally she gave up the struggle and laughed like she hadn't laughed in years.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped through her giggles "That just bri…" she was about to say brings back memories but then she would seem completely crazy. She could tell by Sasuke's, _great my sensei and my teammates are worthless_ look.

"Hmm… How shall I put this? Based on my first impression… I hate you." Kakashi said with a taunting smile in his eyes. Naruto and Sasuke looked crestfallen but Sakura beamed at her new teacher sarcastically.

"Don't worry sensei, we love you too!"

Everyone else stared at the young kunoichi wide eyed. Kakashi Hatake was hardly ever caught off guard, so being surprised by this little girl was quite refreshing. His eye curled up into a smile. Perhaps he wouldn't hate them after all.

Soon they found themselves on the roof with Kakashi leaning against the railing

"Now I'd like you all to tell me a little bit about yourselves."

"Like what?"

"You know, the usual. Your favorite thing… what you hate the most… dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."

"Help us out here coach. You go first. Show us how it's done." Suggested Naruto, a confused look on his face.

"That's right," said Sakura with a smirk on her face "after all you're a complete stranger to us… a mystery." Now Sasuke was getting mad. She was 'smirking'?! Sasuke had invented the smirk! It was pretty much copyrighted by Sasuke inc and this little fan girl thought that she could pull the Uchiha smirk! His annoyance faded as his teacher began to speak.

"Oh, me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future are none of your business… but anyway, I have lots of hobbies!"

"Hey, he said a lot but all we really learned was his name."

"Now, it's your turn. Starting with you on the right."

"Me, right?" asked Naruto fidgeting with his headband "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Master Iruka treats me to ramen at Ichiraku Noodle Bar! What I hate the most is the three minute wait after you pour in the boiling water. My dream is to one day be a better shinobi than Lord Hokage and then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!" Once again Kakashi was surprised. This was turning out to be interesting. "My hobbies are pranks and practical jokes, I guess."

"Next!"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about dreams. That is only a word, but what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan, and there is someone I have sworn 

to kill." Naruto's eyes widened, Kakashi looked at his student knowingly and Sakura… Sakura looked down, hair shading her face. Kakashi couldn't tell if she was going to laugh or cry.

"And finally the young lady." At this Sakura looked up with a determined smile.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I hope to one day specialize in medical ninjutsu. My goal is to protect the ones I love and to form and strengthen new bonds. Unfortunately I too… have someone I have sworn to kill in order to achieve my goal."

Needless to say, everyone stared at Sakura. This was a side of her that no one had seen before but she knew that she had to be honest with her team. Even if she couldn't tell them the whole truth yet.

"Okay… let's move on then." Kakashi said. He made a mental note to ask her about that later.

"Wait a second!" shouted Naruto jumping up. "Why does everyone want to kill someone? I mean seriously! Who made you made enough for you to kill them?!"

"That's a good question." noted Sasuke as he analyzed Sakura. She simply smiled, in a Sai-like fashion. A look of horror crossed Naruto's face.

"Wait… you aren't both planning on killing me are you?" His eyes shifted back and forth between his two teammates. Sakura laughed.

"No, Naruto you don't have to worry. The man that I'm after is an S-ranked criminal and, no." she said turning to Sasuke "He's not the man you're after. I'm not going to interfere in that unless I'm asked to." Sasuke blinked at her stunned. She knew? How could she know? There was no way! No way at all.

"Well then, it seems that we'll be an interesting team!" said Kakashi happily "I believe we all, sort of, understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow." Instantly Naruto forgot all about murder.

"Yes sir!" he said snapping into a salute "what will our duties be? Our first real shinobi mission!"

"Our first mission involves only the members of this cell."

"What is it? What?!"

"Survival Exercises." Kakashi stated bluntly. His eyes narrowing as his students stared at him inquisitively.

"Survival Exercises?'

"You'll have to survive against me. It won't be you're typical practice."

"Well then what type of practice will it be?" asked Naruto. Kakashi chuckled as if enjoying some sort of inside joke.

"What are you laughing about Master Kakashi?"

"Oh nothing. It's just if I told you, you'd chicken out!" Kakashi was trying to scare them. Sasuke knew this, Sakura knew this, and Naruto… was completely oblivious."

"Chicken out? Why?"

"Of the twenty seven of your graduating class only nine will be accepted as junior level shinobi. The other eighteen must go back for more training. The test we are going to perform has a 66 rate of failure." Naruto's jaw dropped and Sasuke glared. "Ha, ha, ha. See you're chickening out already." Naruto finally lost it. (You knew he would)

"That sucks!! We have been through it all! What about our graduation test!?"

"Oh! We wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from our ranks. The ones who are left are the only ones who show true potential." Kakashi explained calmly.

"Say what?!"

"In any event, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so I can evaluate our strengths and weaknesses. Bring all of your ninja tools and weapons. And, don't have breakfast beforehand unless you enjoy throwing up. The details of the assignment are in this handout. Memorize it and don't be late."

"Throw up? How hard is this exercise going to be?!"

A/N: Alrighty then here's chapter 1. Please review. If there are random boxes showing up when I post this ignore them. No idea what that's about. Anyways, next chapter includes the bell test and, (le gasp!) Hinata Hyuga at a café with Sakura and Naruto?! Chapter 2 coming eventually to an internet site near you.


	3. Chapter 2

Light slanted past the buildings of Konoha, filling the streets with soft morning light. Sakura sat, a content smile on her face, as she sipped her tea. She was sitting in a restaurant eating her breakfast before the big bell test. A breeze ran across through the town pushing a piece of paper lazily along the road and causing Sakura to look up. Across the street, head down, was Hyuga Hinata. Sakura didn't blame the girl for being in a constant state of embarrassment after all her team consisted of a guy with a dog fetish, a dude with a bug fetish, and a teacher who wore toilet paper. If Sakura were in her place she would be mortified.

"Oy! Hinata!" called Sakura, waving to the girl. Hinata looked up her pale lavender eyes meeting with Sakura's green ones. She'd seen the girl at the academy, and she was the girl on Naruto's team. After pausing for a minute Hinata cautiously made her way over to Sakura's table wondering what she could possibly want. Upon arriving Sakura gave her a reassuring smile and gestured for the girl to sit down, which Hinata did.

"So, Hinata-chan, I know that we've been together in the academy for all this time but I feel like I don't really know you that well. Since we both made it to genin level I think it would be good if we became friends. After all we'll probably have to work together in the future." She paused and sipped her tea. Hinata stared at the girl before her. She remembered her from the academy. Ditzy and fan girling over Sasuke Uchiha. Nothing like this calm and collected girl before her. However… when Hinata looked at her she noticed something. That little determined glint in her eye. That sweet and wistful smile that showed she was dreaming of what could be. This was the same Sakura as before but now she seemed a bit more… happy? No, that wasn't it. There seemed to be an ancient sadness evident in the way she gripped the tea cup as if afraid it would run away from her. No, she seemed content. Maybe not with life, but with herself. The girl seemed to glow with a self confidence that Hinata had only seen in people like Naruto and had always envied and respected.

"Anyway. I've noticed a few things about you." Said Sakura, snapping Hinata out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"O…oh? L…like what?"

"You like Naruto don't you?" This statement caused Hinata to blush up to the ears. Sakura put up her hands defensively "Don't worry, I won't tell anybody!"

"How did you f…find out?" Sakura laughed at this.

"It's kind of obvious Hinata-chan. After all you almost faint whenever he walks into the room."

"O..oh," realization dawned on her "D… do you think he knows?!"

"No, I wouldn't worry about that. If you hadn't noticed he's a little slow about these kinds of things. I swear, sometimes I think his brain is actually made of ramen." Hinata giggled at this, and Sakura continued. However her voice was quieter now and Hinata noticed she was gripping her cup a bit tighter. "you know, at first I couldn't figure out what you say in him but… well, he's a good guy isn't he?" Hinata nodded at this. " I mean he'd do anything for the people he cares about… anything." Hinata looked at her questioningly but Sakura's mood did a complete 360 as she looked up and smiled at Hinata. "Are you hungry? Should we order you something." Suddenly Hinata realized something.

"You… you're in love with him, aren't you?"

"Hm? Who?" asked Sakura looking at Hinata inquisitively.

"Naruto. The way you talk about him, I mean, you really love him." Hinata said twisting her hands and looking down.

"Yes. I do love him. I love Naruto but I'm not _in_ love with him. Naruto is my team mate and best friend. I will always be there for him if he needs me and I know I can count on him to do the same. So yeah, I do care really deeply for Naruto-kun but it's more the way a brother and sister care about each other."

"He's in love with you though." Hinata said sadly by this point she was looking away her eyes full of unshed tears. "The way he looks at you, and chases after you, and calls your name, and,"

"Hinata, you know Naruto, he doesn't want me he just wants… someone. He doesn't want to be alone and I just happened to be the closest person to him when he decided to latch onto someone. Look, I think that maybe the person he ends up really falling in love with could be… you, Hinata-chan."

"N..no. I, I mean, there's no way, we couldn't, he wouldn't, I mean,"

"Hinata-chan. Look at me." The girl looked up and met Sakura's stern gaze. "Naruto is… well," laughed Sakura "you know him. He's immature and silly and well, it's too soon to give up hope when we have so much life left to live. Besides when was the last time you sat down with Naruto and just talked the way we're talking now."

"W… well, never."

"See! You just need to let him get to know you and I'm sure that it will all work out."

"R…really?"

"Yep! I'd better get going, I can't be late for training!" Sakura was about to leave when Hinata grabbed her hand.

"Wait!" shocked by her own outburst Hinata snatched her hand away and folded them in her lap. Sakura slowly lowered herself back into her seat.

"What is it Hinata-chan?"

"W…why are you being so nice to me? Why are you doing this?" Sakura smiled at her.

"Hinata, Naruto is my friend, and I hope that we can be friends too, and well, I want my friends to be happy that's all. I already said that I care about Naruto like a brother so naturally I'm a bit 

protective but… you love him. You love him and you seem like a great person and the perfect girl to balance out our spazy Naruto." Hinata blushed and smiled at this. "See! You do like him! Besides I think," However she was cut off by a loud voice and a hint of orange that she could see out of the corner of her eye.

"Sakura-chan! What are you doing Kakashi sensei said not to eat breakfast before the big test today!" Yep. It was Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto-kun!" she said happily dragging him over to the table where Hinata still sat, now a definite shade of maroon. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Have you met Hyuga Hinata?"

"I... yeah, weren't we in the academy together?" he asked, very lost as to what was going on. Hinata nodded a little too quickly, eyes down.

"See! Perfect, you know each other why don't you two stay here and talk. I'll be right back I just remembered that I left something at home. See ya!" she said with a grin as she turned and ran back towards her house. As she looked she cast one last look over her shoulder just in time to see Hinata looking panicked and Naruto looking confused.

Of course Sakura didn't forget anything at home but how else was she going to leave Naruto and Hinata alone together. She turned the corner, taking a shortcut that she had discovered when she was 13, and ran smack dab into someone.

"Crap." She murmured as she realized who she had run into. Sasuke Uchiha stood up and brushed the dust off of his clothes a look of obvious disdain painted across his face. Sakura looked up at her team mate in awe. He was just as perfect as she remembered. Everything from his dark eyes to the way that he always seemed to lean back just glowed with the flawlessness that was guaranteed with the name Uchiha. He smirked at her.

"If you're waiting for me to help you up you'll be down there for a while."

'Damn it all!' Thought Sakura angrily. 'I almost forgot that he's a pompous ass!' With that thought in mind she got up to storm off but was stopped when a strong hand grabbed her arm and yanked her backward.

"Not so fast Haruno, I've got some questions and you're going to give me answers." Sakura pulled back but Sasuke's grip just tightened. She clenched her teeth and spun around to face him.

"Sasuke I'm warning you, if you don't let me go I'll,"

"What?" he asked with a snort. "You're threatening me now? This is exactly the kind of thing I want to ask you about. You don't expect me to not notice a complete change in your personality, do you? And besides that since when was a pathetic girl like you cut out for planning a murder of an S-ranked criminal."

"Sasuke I'm surprised! Who would of thought the great Uchiha would have taken notice of a 'pathetic' girl like me?"

"Shut up, Haruno!" He hissed leaning in dangerously close to Sakura's face. His dark bangs fell across his eyes and, for a moment, she could've sworn they were red.

"No!" she shouted defiantly trying to pull out of his grip. She cursed how weak her twelve year old body was. "Sasuke you'd better let me go!" Finally she broke his grip and sprinted down the dark ally. However she didn't make it far before Sasuke caught up to her and shoved her against a wall. Sakura felt the hard collision of her spine against brick and winced visibly. Sasuke had pinned himself against her, an arm on each side and a scowl on his face.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere until I get some answers." Sakura looked up into the sharingan and knew that Sasuke wasn't playing around anymore. "What do you know about my brother?! Tell me!"

A/N: Yay! Cliffie! I didn't get to the bell challenge but that'll be next chapter… maybe… hopefully. Anyways I hope you all like this one.


	4. Chapter 3

Sakura was shocked. She had only seen Sasuke like this when he was facing off against a serious opponent.

"No! Sasuke!" She quickly gathered a small amount of chakra in her chest and forced it down her arms to her wrists. Sasuke yelped and leapt back shaking his hands in pain. Once he opened his eyes and glared at her she noted that the sharingan had disappeared. She couldn't have imagined it, could she?

"What was that?" he asked glaring suspiciously at Sakura's wrists. When Sakura was sixteen Tsunade decided it was time to teach Sakura her special 'pervert defense' jutsu. She said she had to deal with pervs on escort missions that she wasn't allowed to hurt more often then she would like and therefore thought it was a good jutsu to teach Sakura. Of course at the time Sakura had murmured something about that never being necessary for her but Tsunade had ignored that. Now Sakura was glad that she learned it because she felt totally helpless without the strength of her old body.

"Just a stray jutsu I picked up." She lied slowly backing away from the menacing Sasuke. She knew that at this point she was no match for him so the only she could get out of this without incident was to talk her way out. "Look Sasuke, I'll tell you everything I know without hesitation! You know I'd say anything, do anything, for you but… not right now. Just wait and I swear I'll tell you everything I know! Honestly, I don't know much that will be of much help to you but I'll do everything I can to help you avenge your family." She was telling the truth. No matter how hard she fought it she still loved him. She knew now that any sort of real relationship between them was impossible but she didn't care. She just wanted him to be safe and for Naruto to be happy.

"If I let you go now how do I know that you won't just run away. How do I know you'll be true to your word."

"You don't. There's no way that you can be sure because you never took the time to get to know me. If you had though, you'd know how much you mean to me and that I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever."

"Che." He said with a scowl, falling back against the wall and sliding down. Sakura could tell that she was having an effect on him even though his bangs were blocking his face.

"Look I'm not trying to trick you, I want to help. I know you don't believe that, but I do. I want to help more than anything in the world."

"Why!?" shouted Sasuke with so much force that it made Sakura take an involuntary step back. "Why would you want to help me?"

"Because I lo…" she caught herself "Because we're a team. You me and Naruto. We're team seven and that might not mean much to you but it means everything to me."

He looked at her with curiosity and frustration on his perfect face.

"I really don't get you."

"Few people do." She said with a sigh. She was so completely relieved that his freakish emo session was over. She'd seen him when he got extremely angry and it wasn't a pretty picture. She was just glad that they'd had this conversation when he was young and his hormones hadn't completely kicked in.

"I do want to know what you know about my" he seemed to change his mind "about him."

"Eventually" she said beaming now that she noticed that same adorably stubborn pout smirk thing on his face.

"And I'll want to know how you know. "

"I'll tell you that when I tell you what I know about him." She said using his word from earlier.

"I'm still not happy about waiting."

"Yes, well, you're never happy are you? Besides we're on the same team so you'll be able to keep close tabs on me won't you?"

"You can count on that." He said with a scowl. That simple statement made Sakura far more happy then it should have and that scarred her. She turned on her heal and headed toward the training ground. She sensed that he was following and a small smile graced her face as she contemplated what awaited them down at the field.

"Oi! Sakura-chan! Sakura-Chaaaan!!" There was only one person that that could be. She turned to see Naruto running towards them waving his arms frantically. She her Sasuke grumble something under his breath beside her and was forced to suppress a giggle.

"Hey Naruto, what's up?"

"You totally ditched me back there!" he wined and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Sorry about that, Naruto." She said with a small smile. "Did you and Hinata have a good conversation."

"Hinata?" he pondered scratching his head. "She's kinda weird." Sakura sighed.

'Well,' she thought 'every relationship has to start somewhere, right? And at he knows her name now.'

"Why do you say that Naruto?"

"Well she was totally stuttering and then she just ran off!" he exclaimed in obvious confusion by her actions. Sakura could see that she had a long road ahead of her.

"Naruto, that's just because she's shy."

"Shy?" Apparently Naruto had a hard time grasping the concept of shyness and Sakura could tell why. She doubted that Naruto had ever been introverted in his entire life.

"Yeah, she's just worried that you'll think poorly of her so she panics." As Sakura said this Naruto stopped walking and took a minute to think about Sakura's words. Sakura patted herself on the back for a job well done. Perhaps she was finally getting through to him.

"That's stupid." Or maybe she wasn't. After all Naruto was still Naruto. "I'd like her better if she would just say what she means!"

"Naruto girls don't do that." Sakura sighed in defeat.

"You do, does that mean you're not a girl?" Sakura's temper flared and she was pushed of her self-control limit when she heard a mocking 'hn' from Sasuke's direction.

"Naruto-baka!" she shouted pounding him in the top of his head.

"Gah!! Sakura-chan! You're violent like a man too!"

"Do you have a death wish!!" As Sakura attempted to pummel her hyper teammate a new member joined their party.

"Well, well, it seems that my students are nice and lively today. Aren't they?" exclaimed Kakashi as he stood before the trio. As usual he had a book out and his single visible eye was turned up into a smile.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're late!" shouted Naruto point accusingly.

"It seems you are too." He said merrily. At this Sakura looked up and realized that they were just a block away from the training grounds now.

"If you over look our lateness we'll over look your lateness this time and last time." Sakura bargained with a grin knowing that this would become a regular pattern with them.

"That seems fair." said a chuckling Kakashi before gesturing for his students to continue on before him. Soon enough they found themselves in the training grounds with three tree stumps in front of them. On the middle sat an alarm clock.

"I've set this alarm to go off at noon." Explained Kakashi "I have here two small bells, your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails doesn't get any lunch. Instead you will be tied to that tree stump, so I can eat your lunch in front of you." Upon hearing this Naruto shot Sakura an angry look as if it were her fault that he may not receive lunch that afternoon. "All you need is just one bell apiece. But since there aren't enough to go around, one of you is defiantly headed for the stump and whoever that is will be the first of you to fail. One of you is on your way back to school and disgrace." Sakura knew this was a test for her as well she had to act like a normal twelve year old so she quickly pulled on a worried expression. "You may choose to use shuriken. Attack as though you mean to kill or you'll never stand a chance."

Once again Sakura saw another opening to feign childlike innocence.

"But, but that's so dangerous!"

"Yeah!" shouted Naruto "You couldn't even dodge an eraser! You're gonna get yourself killed!!"

"Only the weak speak loudly." Stated Kakashi already growing tired of Naruto on the first day. "Now let's forget the dunce, and we'll start on my signal!"

"DUNCE!!" shouted Naruto instantly reaching for his kunai. Spinning it once he ran towards his teacher. It was incredible; this time around Sakura could see every movement so clearly, as if it were in 

slow motion. Kakashi grabbed Naruto's fist then spun around to Naruto's back placing his palm on the boys head and turning Naruto's own weapon on him. It was all so simple. Had the three of them really have been that weak when they started? Sakura realized that she would have a very hard time pretending that she was weak and stopping herself from helping her friends.

"Not so fast. I didn't say 'go'. But at least you struck to kill. So it seems you've begun to respect me." He chuckled "Maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to like you three. And now, ready, steady, GO!" With that the four ninja dashed off into the trees.

A/N: So I got to the bell test but didn't complete it so I'll have to do that in the next chapter. I hope you like the new chapter, and would love to hear what you have to say so please comment!


	5. Chapter 4

"The basis of all shinobi arts is to become invisible; eradicate yourself

"The basis of all shinobi arts is to become invisible; eradicate yourself." Kakashi muttered to himself as he glanced around the now empty clearing 'All of them are hidden well.'

"It's time for the match to begin!" shouted Naruto walking straight into the clearing "Let's make it a real match, worthy of he greatest warriors!"

"You may be thinking of the wrong kind of match." Stated Kakashi. Meanwhile, just a few yards away Sasuke sat in a tree top watching his teammate in disgust.

"That fool." He murmured.

"The only wrong thing here is your hairstyle!" Naruto charged at his teacher but pulled back sharply once he noticed Kakashi's hand in his weapons pouch.

"Let me teach you your first ninjustsu skill." He began calmly "Taijutsu: the art of the trained body." Naruto stood before his teacher trying to figure out his teachers plan. But lost his demeanor when his teacher pulled out the famous orange book. "Is something wrong? I thought you were coming for me."

"But… you… I mean, I… I mean… Why are you… That's a book!"

"Of course, it's a book. I've been dying to find out how this story ends. Carry on. It shouldn't make a difference in the outcome, considering who I'm up against."

"I'm gonna flatten you!" shouted an outraged Naruto throwing punch after punch, each one missing it's target. Sakura, who was crouched behind a cluster of bushes, suddenly remembered what was going to happen next.

"Naruto! Behind you!" she shouted in a last ditch attempt to save her teammates rear.

"What?" But her cry was too late. As Naruto glanced over his shoulder all he saw was Kakashi, with an evil glint in his eye, announcing the arrival of Konahagakure's secret technique.

"One Thousand Years of Pain!!" Sakura sighed. It seemed that some things would never change, including Naruto's stupidity or her teacher's strange perversions. She watched as her teammate face planted into the water. As Kakashi continued to read he was bombarded by a couple of Naruto's weapons and simply caught them with ease. Sakura waited as silence spread across the clearing until she saw Naruto crawling out of the water coughing and hacking.

"Well? What's the hold up? Get one of these bells by lunch, or you'll have no lunch."

"Duh! I know that!"

"You want to surpass Lord Hokage, but you've already run out of steam."

"Crap! Crap! Crap! I can fight no matter how hungry I am!" Throughout the field bellies rumbled yet Sakura lay contently under her bush while Naruto continued to shout. "I just wasn't ready, that's all!"

"So learn to get ready. Don't they say that chance favors the prepared mind?" Kakashi suggested as he walked away, completely convinced that his fight was over. The jounin paused as he heard a splash behind him. He cocked his head as he noticed a swarm of spazzy ninja flying toward him.

"Ha-ha! My specialty! The art of the doppel-ganger! Get ready! Now you must face a lot more then just one of me!" Sakura scanned the trees and caught sight of Sasuke, shock evident on his face. She realized that it must be his first time seeing the shadow clones. Kakashi surveyed the challenge before him.

"Not illusions, but actual multiple flesh-and-blood bodies!" he recognized the technique from the scroll that Mizuki tricked Naruto into stealing. "But at your level you couldn't be strong enough to keep this up for more than a minute. You talk a good game, but you're still only Naruto! You're a one-trick pony who hasn't got what it takes to win!" he paused. Naruto was clutching onto his back. "What? Behind me?!" Naruto smirked at Kakashi's shocked face. Sakura watched in awe at her friend, who, at such a young age, had outsmarted a jounin. Only now that she was older, at least in spirit and mind, did she realize how incredible her team really had been.

"Heh heh heh. Nice to see your back, Master!" I isolated one of my doppel-gangers, sent it out of the water posing as me, while I circled around behind you. Here's payback for what you did to my ass! This must be hard on you, so I'll go easy. One good hit is all I want." He pulled back his fist and threw a solid punch which landed… on his own shadow-clone. It wasn't long before he was busy beating his own clones to a pulp while Sakura regretted being so proud of him. As soon as Naruto had canceled out all of his clones he noticed a single bell lying on the ground below a tree.

"A bell! Hee- hee- hee. He must have been pretty flustered to drop one! Ha!" Upon reaching for the bell he was scooped up by his ankles. "What the heck?!" As he squirmed around in a futile attempt to escape, Kakashi strolled up to the tree.

"You used your technique well but so did I and you were the one who got used. And to be caught in such an obvious trap was stupid." Naruto bristled at those words. "Shinobi read the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings!"

"I know that!"

"Uh, no you don't. That's why I'm saying it." It was then that Sasuke made his first move. From his place in the tree he shot a handful of kunai at Kakashi. They made direct contact with the side of his face.

"Whoa! Whoa! No way! That was over kill, Sasuke!" But it didn't matter because a moment later, in a poof of smoke, it was revealed to be a log. Soon both Sasuke and Sakura were on the move, both searching for a new place to hide. Sakura came to an abrupt halt. Standing in a clearing was Kakashi, reading his book and looking as innocent as possible. She ducked behind a bush as her heart began to race. She knew what was happening but she didn't know how to respond. After what had happened with Sasuke, she knew she had to be careful when it came to showing any signs of future knowledge. Her little display during the introductions was already a bit too much and people where getting suspicious. She knew what she had to do.

"Sakura, behind you!"

She spun around to see Kakashi kneeling in the bushes behind her, hands held in the rat position. Leaves swirled around Sakura picking up speed and volume. Her eyes fell into a half lidded position and she did nothing to stop it. As soon as it had really started to pick up it was over and her senses were returned to her.

"Sakura."

"Sasuke-kun!" the girl exclaimed only to discover his grotesquely mangled body, not even strong enough to stand, leaning forward with a look of unbridled agony. Sakura let her hands fly to her mouth. She knew that it wasn't real. She knew that this was an image caused by her sensei's genjutsu and that Sasuke was off in a bush somewhere just fine, but it hurt her to see him like this. She thought that after all this time and all that had happened seeing him like this wouldn't hurt so much. She thought that she was strong enough to get over this power he had over her. She thought wrong.

A single tear rolled down her face as she let loose an ear splitting scream and fainted dead away… or so it seemed. Kakashi blinked at his pupil feeling despair that he had been mistaken about her potential and turned his attention to the Uchiha.

Sasuke had heard the scream and recognized its creator instantly.

"Shinobi Fighting lesson #2, Genjutsu." Said a smug Kakashi as he prowled closer to the dark haired boy "Sakura easily fell for it." A wind brushed across the training ground spinning leaves across the hill and onyx strands of hair across Sasuke's cheek.

"I'm not the same as them."

"Say that after you get the bell, Sasuke-kun." Replied the jounin as he leaned nonchalantly against a tree and leafed through his novel. He paused to put his book away then stood and strolled towards his opponent. "The strength of the village's #1 Uchiha clan, this should be interesting." Sasuke drew out a handful of small shirikun and hurled them at his teacher who dodged them with ease. "Such obvious attacks are pointless." announced Kakashi with laughter in his eyes. Of course that joy faded as he saw one of the shuriken slice through a rope that he had somehow missed. Of course he easily dodged the knives that shot his way from the trap but only just blocked the foot that came towards his face. Then he grabbed the fist, then blocked the other leg, then, to Kakashi's surprise, Sasuke was reaching out towards the bells. The silver haired ninja threw his body back to protect the prize that the youth was seeking and just barely made it. As he leaned Sasuke's fingers brushed the bell causing the youth to smirk with the knowledge that victory was near. Kakashi jumped back and once again took a defensive stance.

By this point Sakura was 'awake' and cautiously making her way through the trees towards where she heard, if only just slightly, a scuffle between teacher and student. Meanwhile Naruto had been battling it out with a tree. After falling for the same trap a second time Naruto now hung by his ankle and surveyed the landscape before him, arms crossed and a frown on his face. He noticed something.

"Is that a rock? The tree stump! So that's what it looks like from behind. Hey, the lunch boxes are on top of that boulder! Shinobi are supposed to read the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings, right?" Now the boy was reduced to giggles as he started to plot.

Kakashi smiled as he looked over at his student.

"I admit it, you're not like the others." Sasuke's response couldn't be clearer. The boys hands started to move into quick symbols that Kakashi instantly realized. Snake, tiger, monkey, boar, horse, tiger. Fire style! Fireball technique!

"What!" gasped Kakashi in shock. He had expected Sasuke's chakra to not be controlled enough for that yet and was surprised that a novice had produced the giant swirl of flame that was hurtled towards him. As the flames died down Sasuke pulled his hand away from his mouth and glanced around. The man was gone. He looked around, looked everywhere, well everywhere but down. In a split second he was dragged down under the dirt by Kakashi's earth style attack that left only Sasuke's head out so the jounin could watch the frustration on his students face.

"Shinobi battle technique lesson number three- ninjutsu." Said the man as he kneeled down before the Uchiha, thoroughly pleased with the situation. "But at least, as you predicted, your performance was head and shoulders above that of your companions." Sasuke twitched at the bad joke but his teacher didn't seem to notice. "Oh, well! You know what they say! The nail that sticks up is the one that get's hammered down, right?" The man stood, chuckling as he heard the boy mutter 'crap', as he turned and walked away while pulling out his book once again. As he waked he noticed something happening by the tree stumps and smiled as he quietly slunk his way towards his new prey.

"Even if I can't take those bells fair and square I can deal with it." came Naruto's voice from behind the boulder. "I'll just hang out here and eat everybody's lunch!" exclaimed the excited pre-teen as he prepared to dig into the food before him.

"Ahem!"

"Uhh, just kidding." Whimpered Naruto as he came to the realization of who was just behind him poised on the boulder.

"Too late!"

Sakura, once she was completely sure that Kakashi was no where to be seen, walked out of the bushes with cautiously light steps. That's when her eyes looked onto Sasuke's. She had entered the clearing with the full intention with once again faking a swoon but the look on Sasuke's face was too much. It started as a small giggle but soon it grew to muffled chuckles and then she was doubled over clutching her stomach in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"Double crap." He muttered angrily. Soon enough he was out, refusing any help from his female teammate who instead sat at the side of the clearing letting her laughter die down until only a silent smile was left.

"Time's running out. It's almost noon. I'm off." He muttered a blush of frustration slightly tingeing his cheeks.

"Sasuke do you honestly believe you can get one of those bells?"

"I got close enough to touch them; this time I'll take them."

"Sasuke, come on, you yourself said it's almost noon. Why even bother? Let's find Naruto and Kakashi and get out of here."

"No. Only I can kill him."

"Yeah but Sasuke please! You can just let it rest for now, you have all the time in the world. It's not like he's going to disappear anytime soon."

"He made me cry."

"Sasuke, I know you don't believe me but I understand. I know what you're going through and I want to help but for now there are more important things to focus on."

"My only goal is to have my revenge. I have to become stronger then he is now." Before Sakura could respond the timer rang. "Oh crap! I should've saved my breath." He started to walk towards the tree stumps hands in his pockets.

"Sasuke wait!" shouted the pink haired ninja as she ran towards him her bangs fluttering and her braid swinging back and forth behind her. He paused briefly, brows creasing as he turned just slightly to glance at the girl. She drew up beside him her face a bit reserved which peaked Sasuke's curiosity. "Let's go together; we don't have to face Kakashi alone." He looked at her for a moment before nodding and continuing onward. She noticed that though his face was slightly turned away from her, he slowed his pace to match the same rhythm as hers. She smiled but decided it was best not to mention it. The remainder of their walk was completed in total silence.

Ten minutes later they sat next to their eternally stubborn teammate who was tied to the stump, his stomach protesting loudly.

"Oh, my! Listen to all the little stomachs growl! By the way, you three, I have an announcement about the exercise. None of you need to worry about being sent back to the ninja academy.

"Yeah!" shouted Naruto "This rocks! It means all three of us,"

"are hopeless." Interrupted Kakashi "More schooling would be pointless. None of you will ever be shinobi!"


End file.
